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Beefsteak tomatoes make the best "confit" Blanch scored and cored tomatoes in boiling water for 20 to 30 seconds. Cool in ice water, peel, and quarter. Cut away the seed sacs and inner ribs from the tomatoes; use the seeds in a stock or soup. Arrange the tomatoes in a Roast in a low oven until shrunken and sheet pan, flatten slightly, sprinkle deeply colored. They'll be quite pliable. with salt, and coat with olive oil. color, before they're reduced to about a third of their original thickness; this will take about 2 Yz to 3 hours. When done, the tomatoes will be shrunken and wrinkled but still somewhat moist on the inside (unlike sun-dried or oven-dried tomatoes) since the olive oil bath has helped them retain some moisture. Their flavor will be intense and earthy, somewhat sweet and somewhat tangy. Once the tomatoes are cool, I store them in the fridge for up to two weeks. When I store them, I cover the tomatoes with olive oil, using any oil that's left over from roasting and topping it off with fresh olive oil if needed. Use the tomatoes whole, sliced, or chopped in many dishes. For example, I always have a pasta on the menu-like tagliatelle with chicken, wild mushrooms, and artichokes-that includes these tomatoes. And in one of my most popular dishes, a Tomato, Goat Cheese & Basil Terrine (recipe opposite) , the tomatoes are a main ingredient. But mostly I try to respect the delicate texture and great flavor of these tomatoes by treating them as a highlight to a dish and not messing with them too much. This means I don't usually cook them again; rather, I might fold them into a dish like polenta or risotto towards the end of cooking, or more often, I might just arrange the room-temperature tomatoes alongside a piece of grilled fish or a lamb chop and let diners use the confit as a condiment. Sometimes I dice, chop, or slice them to add to a salad or a sandwich. I think the flavor is best appreciated when the confit is at room temperature (don't serve the tomatoes straight from the refrigerator) , but you can gently warm them on a baking sheet in the oven, if you like. The intense flavor and silky texture of these toma- toes can really pick up many dishes. For just a few ideas on how to use them, see the sidebar on p. 35. 34 --------------+ t-C IP� � -- Tomato "Con fit" (Slow-Roasted Tomatoes) I like to use beefsteak tomatoes for this recipe, although I'm careful to use them when they're just ripe-overripe tomatoes don't yield great results. I've also substituted halved, seeded plum tomatoes in a pinch with good results. Yields 40 pieces. 1 0 ripe medium-large beefsteak tomatoes (about 8 oz. each) Coarse salt % cup olive oil Heat the oven to 300°F. Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Core the tomatoes and use a sharp knife to score the bottoms with an a time for 20 to 30 seconds in boiling water. Remove and shock in ice water for 2 min. Start peeling the tomatoes, returning each to the cold water until all are peeled. Quarter the tomatoes and remove the seeds and interior flesh so that just the thick outer flesh is left. (Use a paring knife to carve out insides.) Lay the tomato pieces (seeded side down) flat on a parchmentlined 13x1 8-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan; press down to flatten slightly. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt and cover with the olive oil. Be sure all the tomato pieces are well coated in oil. Don't worry if they're crowded together; they'll shrink when cooking. Roast the tomatoes until they're shrunken to one- x. third their original thickness, 21f2 to 3 hours. (You may need to remove the tomatoes in stages, as some will be done before others.) Occasionally turn the pan around in the oven to cook the tomatoes evenly. If the edges are turning black, reduce the oven temperature to 275°F. When done, they'll be wrinkled, flat, and thin, but they'll retain some of their moisture inside. The color will have darkened to a brick red. Let the tomatoes cool and then store them in the refrigerator (covered in olive oil) for up to two weeks. FINE COOKI G Blanch a few tomatoes at